Wemo announces Google Home compatibility for its smart accessories

Looking to make your home into a sci-fi futuristic one? Good news: Belkin’s home brand Wemo has officially announced compatibility with Google Home and Google Assistant. This means that you’ll be able to control power outlets and lights around your house hands-free, just using your voice.

Google introduced Google Home back in October along with its Pixel smartphones. It’s essentially Google’s answer to the ever-growing voice-assisted smart home appliance market not unlike Amazon’s Echo. The difference, of course, is that Amazon’s Echo uses Alexa, and Google’s speaker uses Google Assistant.

Given Google Assistant’s capabilities, if you’re keen on voice assistant services, this is the device to have for your home. And supported devices are growing steadily – now you can use Wemo’s core products such as the Wemo Switch, Wemo Insight Switch, and Wemo Light Switch with Google Home. In other words, you can simply say the wake word, “OK Google,” and ask Google Home to turn on a Wemo-controlled home appliance whether it’s a fan or a porch light.

As CTO for Wemo, Brian Van Harlingen explains, voice controlled home assistance is growing rapidly, and Wemo’s integration into Google Home will be an integral part in that:

Voice control continues to be a major driver of smart home integration, and we’re thrilled to expand our voice offerings with Google Home and Google Assistant. Wemo stands for simplicity and convenience, and working with Google Home is yet another way we can live up to those values and provide our users with an easy, useful and fun smart home experience.

Google Home may sound robotic at times, but overall our review has found it to be a well-designed home gadget with impressive far-field microphones and audio quality. If you already own a Google Home, you can get Wemo’s home switches for around $30 each on its official website.

What are your thoughts on voice assisted home appliances? Is it the future or still too early to tell? Let us know by leaving a comment below!